End of the squeeze? Metro creates system that can avoid crowded cars
3 min readPassengers on Lines 1-Blue and 2-Green of the Subway they can have relief from the crowded carriages during peak hours. This is because the Control and Operation Center (CCO) of these lines implemented something new: the Toth System, a technology that monitors the number of people in each carriage and allows the Metro to make assertive decisions to combat overcrowding.
“The Metrô engineering team developed the Toth System with the aim of bringing information from the train cabin to the control center”, says Dário de Carvalho, Metrô’s operational strategies coordinator.
The expert explains that, before implementation, in August 2024, the CCO had to monitor, using cameras, which wagons were most full, checking wagon by wagon on all trains in circulation. Now, it is possible to check the capacity of all trains at the same time, seconds after passengers board.
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How does the Toth system help avoid crowded carriages?
Each bar represents a moving train, the red and yellow colors represent more crowded carriages. By clicking on a vehicle, you can know exactly which car is full. Photo: Disclosure/Metrô
Carvalho defined the screen above as “a heat map, where the operator ‘looks’ and recognizes how many passengers are on that train”. Upon realizing that a train is crowded, the operator can, for example, direct a vehicle that has reached the end of the line and has been emptied to stations further along the route, avoiding even greater crowding.
“The system optimizes control and allows you to create strategies. You know the exact place where to insert an empty train”, summarizes Carvalho. He explains that this technology is already in use and allows for these specific adjustments at times of high capacity.
At the same time, the Toth System also allows the CCO to reverse the flow of the escalators at the next station upon realizing that one of the cars is full. Thus, passengers are directed to the doors of the emptiest carriages, avoiding accumulation in already crowded spaces.
“In the event of an abnormality [when the cars are full], it is essential that the control center sees not only trains, but people”, explains Carvalho. The Metro coordinator also says that Line 15-Silver could be the next to receive the system. For Line 3-Red, other updates to the track system would be necessary, so there is still no forecast for the adoption of the system.
Other functions of the Toth System
“If the train has faulty equipment, the Toth System also signals it”, says Carvalho. Air conditioning problems, door opening failures and emergency button activations, which were previously communicated to the CCO by the driver, are now viewed in real time on the operations center computer.
This way, if a door failure is detected, for example, it is possible to direct a technician to the next station. This way, when the train arrives, a professional will be ready to deal with the problem.
How does Metro detect which cars are full?
“There is an air bag under the wagons. It ensures that the train is stable, close to the platform and without a step up or down”, explains Carvalho. Through this air pocket and sensors installed in it, the Metro is able to measure the weight of each of the carriages on a train.
Then a conversion is done. “We measure what this weight represents in terms of number of people, considering the average weight of Brazilians. Finally, we determine what that weight represents in terms of people in the car’s size. This way, we obtain what the number of people per square meter would be”, explains the Metro coordinator.
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https://mobilidade.estadao.com.br/inovacao/metro-desenvolvu-sistema-para-detectar-vagoes-lodados-saiba-os-impactos-para-os-passageiros/
Author: Fellipe.leite